Survey Research on e-Learningin Asian Countries - Fiscal Year 2002
(Country Specific Report - Brunei Darussalam)- Table of Contents 1. Market: Market Trends of e-Learning..........................................................................................1
1.1 Status of IT Promotion (Centered on the Internet).................................................................1
1.1.1 Outline of the Internet .....................................................................................................1
1.1.2 Outline of ISP .................................................................................................................1
1.2 Status of Education and Training System..............................................................................1
1.2.1 Higher Education ............................................................................................................1
1.2.2 Vocational Education ......................................................................................................1
1.3 IT Human Resources Required.............................................................................................2
1.4 E-Learning Market Trends.....................................................................................................2
2. Technology: Trends of e-Learning System (Synchronous & Asynchronous)...............................3
2.1 Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) .....................................................................................3
2.1.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................3
2.1.2 Activities Related to e-Learning ......................................................................................3
3. Advanced Activities.....................................................................................................................3
4. Government Policy and its Vision (Mid- and Long-term Direction)..............................................4
4.1 Status of IT Policies...............................................................................................................4
4.2 E-Learning Related Measures as Part of IT or Educational Policies .....................................44.3 Laws Regulating Rights for Intellectual Property and Personal Information in e-Learning ....4
4.4 Vision ....................................................................................................................................4
4.5 International and National Conference..................................................................................4i

1. Market: Market Trends of e-Learning
1.1 Status of IT Promotion (Centered on the Internet)
1.1.1 Outline of the Internet
Brunei is one of the countries in Southeast Asia that have an advanced telecommunication
infrastructure. Brunei plans to further improve the infrastructure. The estimated population ofBrunei is about 270,000, of which one out of every three persons has a telephone.
Brunei has two satellite communication ground stations through which direct call, telex, andfacsimile services to various regions in the world are provided. Systems presently used in
Brunei include an analog telephone switching system, a fiber-optic cable link to Singapore andManila, a packet switching system for accessing high-speed computers in foreign countries, acellular automobile telephone system, and a paging system. The introduction of microwave
and solar battery telephone has allowed direct calls to all remote areas in the country.
According to the statistics of ITU (2001), the number of Internet users in Brunei was about
35,000, which means that the Internet diffusion rate in this year was about 10.45 %. The ITU
survey in 1999 showed that the number of Internet users in that year was about 25,000. This
indicates that the number of Internet users in Brunei has been growing.

1.1.2 Outline of ISP
Internet service started by BruNet in 1995 was deregulated in 2000.

1.2 Status of Education and Training System
1.2.1 Higher Education
Half of the population of Brunei is composed of youths under 20 years old. Citizens agedfive years and above can receive education free of charge. Students are also sponsored bythe government to study abroad if studies concerned are not available locally.
Higher education institutions in Brunei include Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) andInstitut Teknologi Brunei (ITB). There are also various technical and vocational institutions.
Brunei did not have a university until the mid-1980s. Thus, students requiring higher
education had to study in foreign universities, particularly in those of the British
Commonwealth of Nations. In 1985, however, UBD was established to satisfy the need todevelop human resources which respond to the demands of the country, with the cooperationof universities in the U.K. and Malaysia.
Brunei focuses on the fostering of teachers in order to reduce the shortage of teachers.
Approximately 40% of UBD students receive teacher training. Teacher certificate/diploma canbe obtained at the completion of the third year, unlike the bachelor's degree.
Other higher education organizations include Institut Teknologi Brunei, established in 1985.
It provides specialized education in management and accounting, information science, electricand electronic engineering, etc. In addition to the term of study, which is two and a half years,
six-month practical training in companies or other organizations is required. Those who havecompleted these courses are given qualifications accredited by the Business and Technician
Education Council. The graduates can be admitted to UBD as transfer students.

1.2.2 Vocational Education
Technical and vocational schools in Brunei are classified into the two levels; a lower course
which admits graduates of lower secondary schools, and an upper course which admits
graduates of upper secondary schools and those of a lower technical/vocational course.

1Students of these courses major in various fields, such as electricity, electronics, informationscience, mechanics, architecture, craftwork, agriculture, oceanography, and nursing. The
terms of study of such schools depend on the school, specialty, and type of course (e.g., fulltime course and part-time course), etc. The maximum lengths are two and a half years forlower courses and three and a half years for upper courses.
Some schools take an education method whereby in-school education and practical training
in companies are provided alternately, not in-school education only. Many schools provide
their education in accordance with educational courses certified by British private vocational
awarding bodies, such as the City and Guilds of London Institute and the Business andTechnician Education Council.

1.3 IT Human Resources Required
Information unavailable.

1.4 E-Learning Market Trends
Major vendors and users are as follows:- Brunei Shell Companies (oil and gas)
- DST Communications (service vendor)- HSBC Bank (banking institution)2

2. Technology: Trends of e-Learning System (Synchronous & Asynchronous)
2.1 Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD)
http://www.ubd.edu.bn/

2.1.1 Overview
Brunei did not have a university until the mid-1980s. In 1985, the UBD was established tosatisfy the need to develop human resources which respond to the demands of the country,with the cooperation of universities in the U.K. and Malaysia.
Applicants for UBD must have at least two "A" level passes in the Brunei Cambridge
General Certificate of Education. The university makes a selection from among applicants.
UBD has over 300 staff and over 2,800 students. Bachelor's degrees can be obtained in thefaculties of arts and social sciences, business economics and policy studies, Islamic studies,science, education, medicine, etc. The term of study for each faculty is four years. UBD alsooffers graduate courses, yet they are limited to master's courses for a few specialties (e.g.,
public policy, education management).

2.1.2 Activities Related to e-Learning
UBD is working on e-learning experiments, as it plans to use e-learning to supplement
existing teaching delivery mode. Several faculties are planning to implement e-learning within
the next two years.
Some lecturers have already started e-learning experiments. UBD is looking intoestablishing a standard operating environment for mounting course contents that iscompatible to the common platforms.
UBD has the Educational Technology Centre equipped with a videoconference system forinternational meetings, and also with facilities to present conference documents and minutes.

3. Advanced Activities
Information unavailable.

34. Government Policy and its Vision (Mid- and Long-term Direction)
4.1 Status of IT Policies
In accordance with e-ASEAN Framework, IT development at a national level is led by theBrunei Darussalam Information Technology Council, which drives three programs of e-Government,e-Business, and e-Brunei. The e-Government Program Executive Committee and the e-Business
Program Executive Committee are respectively in charge of the former two programs.

4.2 E-Learning Related Measures as Part of IT or Educational Policies"The 8th National Development Plan", a five-year plan for 2001-2005, puts emphasis on
human resource development and utilization of IT. e-Learning is considered to be an intrinsic
part of the national IT development strategy.

4.3 Laws Regulating Rights for Intellectual Property and Personal Information in e-Learning
Information unavailable.

4.4 Vision
Information unavailable.

4.5 International and National Conference
The following conference related to e-learning was held:(1) "The Brand New Learning World"- Period: April 2001
This was a seminar on e-learning organized by Hewlett-Packard and Komputer Wisman
Sdn Bhd with the cooperation of the Ministry of Education. Lectures were given by hostcompanies. The seminar had approximately 120 participants from public and private sectors.

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